As soon as we picked them up at Guadalajara Int'l Airport, the tour began in our own Lake Chapala area. We showed them downtown Chapala and its beach, and then traveled further in our direction to our favorite neighboring town of Ajijic. Walked through the main square and the main restaurant/shop/gallery area, and on to the wharf. Of course, Mike & Orly were more than ready for their first Margaritas, so we stopped at the touristy bar at the end of the Wharf. Finally, we headed for our home in Jocotepec, where Bob mixed up his welcome drinks of Rum Punch made with orange juice, mango juice, grapefruit juice, fresh squeezed lime juice, and fresh pineapple along with Barcardi's special anejo Rum. Then dinner.
Next day, the tour was to the famous town of TEQUILA. We hadn't been there yet, and had especially saved the tour for Mike & Orly's planned visit. Tequila is not too far from Guadalajara, only approx. 35miles NW. Walked around the town a little bit, had a delicious lunch of fresh made Tacos (steak, chorizo, pork, and tongue) along with all the toppings. Then it was on to the guided tour at the oldest and most well-known distillery -- Jose Cuervo, of course. They made us all wear silly hair bonnets for 'sanitation'. Quite an interesting tour, showing us the entire process from raw Aguave hearts through initial fermentation, first and second distillation, and the owner's private cellar with 150-200 year old rare jars of tequila (no we didn't get to taste those!). But, we were given small tastes of the 1800 Reserves etc., and then the tour ended with a frozen Marguarita.
Their final day, we took them into the heart of Guadalajara, in particular to the upscale shopping district of Tlaquepaque, which they enjoyed a lot (and, bought their fill of gifts to take home). Went for Lunch at a fabulous garden view restaurant, where we all tried a unique appetizer of charcoal grilled bone marrow (see Pic. of Mike with the bones). It was delicious (but, of course not very healthy -- extremely high in cholesterol). We also had Red Snapper in a red hot sauce, veal Birria stew, and fajitas -- along with some of the best frozen Margaritas any of us had ever tasted (with tamarind fruit juice added).
Our final evening, we went to our favorite restaurant in Ajijic called "The Tango", where they serve up some really fantastic steaks - marinated, tender, huge portions, for unbelievably reasonable prices. Naturally, good time was had by all. Finished our long day with a final nightcap toast at home, of a 1988 French Sauternes that Bob had been cellaring/saving for more than 15 years -- and, thanks to a blessing from the Gods, it had aged well and not spoiled. Tasted like honey!
Sorry to see them go, but it was a wonderful visit. Mike & Orly are a pleasure to have as guests -- albeit, if they stayed much longer they might have killed us from exhaustion. Too much good food, good drink, and fun for us 'old retirees'! (LOL)
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